Thai protesters' rivals call for end to 'anarchy'

[April 29, 2010]  BANGKOK (AP) -- Thailand's pro-establishment Yellow Shirt activists demanded military action against anti-government Red Shirt protesters Thursday and an end to "anarchy" in the capital, a day after clashes turned a busy expressway into a deadly battle zone.

The re-emergence of the Yellow Shirts -- best known for shutting Bangkok's airports for a week in 2008 -- added to the volatility on the streets of the Thai capital, where a seven-week standoff has killed at least 27 people and wounded nearly 1,000.

The Yellow Shirts draw their support from Thailand's business and bureaucratic elite, whose pervasive influence is deeply resented by the Red Shirts -- mostly from the rural and urban poor, who make up the vast majority of the country's more than 60 million people.

The current bout of unrest is the culmination of a four-year political standoff following the 2006 ouster of populist former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a military coup. Thaksin is a hero for the Red Shirts, but is loathed by the Yellow camp. The Red Shirts are seeking the resignation of current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva -- whose government they viewed as supported by the military and illegitimate -- and fresh elections.

The crisis has hurt business in the capital and devastated Thailand's vital tourist industry, which accounts for 6 percent of the economy. The Red Shirts have turned parts of Bangkok's commercial heart into a protest camp, forcing the closure of some of the city's ritziest malls and hotels.

The crisis has also spilled into the diplomatic arena.

On Thursday, the foreign minister censured some envoys for meeting last week with Red Shirt leaders.

"We do not want to see that happening again," Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters during a visit to Jakarta, Indonesia. Kasit said he had earlier met with the Philippine Ambassador Antonio V. Rodriguez, the dean of the Bangkok diplomatic corps, to express his concern.

In a note to diplomats, Rodriguez said Kasit accused some ambassadors of voicing opposition to the constitutional monarchy and criticizing the government's handling of the crisis. Thailand's king is nearly universally revered, and laws severely restrict discussion of him.

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Wednesday that U.S. diplomats are "intensively engaged in discussions" with Thai government officials and with opposition forces.

"Our message remains what it has been since this situation evolved, which is to peacefully resolve the situation," he said.

A statement from the European Union said EU Ambassador David Lipman met briefly with the protesters and called for "constructive dialogue and a negotiated solution to the current political crisis."

Yellow Shirt rallies were held Thursday at military bases nationwide with the main gathering in Bangkok outside the 11th Infantry Regiment, which has served as Abhisit's home since the Red Shirts launched protests in mid-March.

"The crisis in Thailand has rapidly and intensively spread and become a state of anarchy," said a petition handed by leaders of the Yellow Shirts -- formally known as the People's Alliance for Democracy -- to representatives of the government and army.

The previously pro-government Yellow Shirts denounced Abhisit's government for failing to halt the protests and enforce the law, leading to "a vacuum of political power and disorder."

"The crisis has reached a critical point and has damaged the economy and society," it said. "We would like to see the brave soldiers help us get rid of this illegal activity and bring peace to Thai society as soon as possible."

Though they have been critical of the Red Shirts' tactics, the Yellow Shirts opened the door to mass street protests with months of anti-Thaksin rallies that ended in the coup that ousted him. When pro-Thaksin politicians later came to power, they took to the streets again -- shutting Bangkok's airports for a week in 2008. They retreated after Abhisit's arrival in late 2008, but many fear their return could lead to head-on clashes with the rival Red Shirts.

Wednesday's bloodshed occurred on a busy expressway that serves as Bangkok's main gateway to the north and near the smaller of its two airports.

Thai troops fired rifles and threw tear gas at a crowd of Red Shirt protesters riding motorbikes. The confrontation killed one soldier -- apparently from friendly fire -- and wounded 18 other people. Heavily armed troops took cover behind terrified commuters' cars and one driver clasped her hands in prayer as soldiers wove their way through traffic.

In a television broadcast, security officials displayed 62 grenades they said had been found in a bag dropped by a motorcyclist who fled a police checkpoint on a road leading to the site of the clash.

There have been about 20 incidents in recent weeks involving the use of M-79 grenade launchers -- mostly non-fatal, although a week ago, five grenades exploded in the heart of Bangkok's financial center killing one person and wounding more than 80.

A protest leader Nattawut Saikua denied that the grenades belonged to protesters and criticized the military force against protesters as excessive.

[Associated Press; GRANT PECK]

Associated Press reporters Thanyarat Doksone and Jocelyn Gecker in Bangkok and Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report.

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